Doctor Who Style at The Doctor Who Experience

I am dedicating this blog to my friend Rainer Niermann (a huge Doctor Who fan) who was held back from attending this event due to very important meetings concerning his new film. I hope Rainer, that this vicarious experience will be at least almost as good as the actual experience itself.

So….

Last Saturday afternoon, three girl friends and myself travelled to Olympia Two from all over London to experience Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Experience doesn’t officially begin until February 20th, but I was fortunate enough to procure some complimentary tickets to experience the test pilot.

Now, we had already lost our token Doctor Who fan boy/encyclopaedia to a meeting, so the four of us who entered the doors of Olympia Two that day, were more curious than excited. Oh don’t get me wrong; we weren’t completely ignorant where Doctor Who is concerned – I used to watch Doctor Who religiously with my nieces and nephew while I was studying in Leicester and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I felt little motivation to make the time to watch it all by my lonesome. So there ended my relationship with Doctor Who. That is, until now.

The Doctor Who Experience is enjoyed in two parts. The first part is a more immersive, interactive experience, whereas the latter half is a Doctor Who exhibition. I frantically dug into my skip of a bag for my camera and there we were ready to experience the Whovian world.

Except…

“No, no cameras aloud in there I’m afraid,” chuckled one of the stewards, as he ushered us into the theatre, keeping his gaze fixed on my camera as I shoved it back into my bag. “You can take photographs afterwards.”

In we went, with the other visitors and after hoping for a minute that seats would aparate to accommodate our bottoms (they didn’t, if you were wondering), we resolved to stand facing the illuminated screen in the dark half-moon shaped room.

I could describe the entire experience here, but I would most certainly ruin any element of surprise and intrigue and you don’t want me to do that now, do you? Especially if you are a serious Doctor Who fan! (And of course I really don’t want to be reading hate mail due to my big mouth spilling spoilers all over my blog.)

The Dalek Emperor

I will tell you this though, if you are a die-hard Doctor Who fan, you will love this experience, if only for the chance to push the buttons, slap the joysticks and flip the switches in the Tardis. And you will probably quite happily pay the price of £15 – £20 for a ticket. If you aren’t a brethren of the Whovian world however, you may prefer to enjoy the experience from the comfort of your desk, a moth eaten chesterfield sofa in an artsy cafe or while sat upon the loo (I’ve recently become aware that this is common practice for many people) via the not so fantastic pictures I have taken (due to the bad lighting, of course).

With the immersive part of the experience over, we thought we’d check out the exhibition. Again, I apologise for the quality and lack of pictures, but I’m sure the exhibition carried almost every alien /otherworldly creature featured in Doctor Who episodes (well, the ones I’ve watched anyway). There were also photos and illustrations of every single Doctor Who as well as the most popular costumes.

I love clothes and history and am a little bit in love with costumes. So I went about photographing some of my favourites. I love that vintage style has remained constant throughout the series for Doctor Who’s costumes.

What Amy was wearing when she first met the doctor at the age of 7

I Love both the 1970’s style coat, with the hood and red toggles and super sweet nightie, with a chinese collar and polka dots. Love it!

The experience hadn’t ended yet. The Doctor Who gift shop embraced us with its Whovian beings, some cuddly, some not and the usual memorabilia. And like similar experiences, visitors have the opportunity to have a special Doctor Who photograph taken. In ours, we were suspended in space as we walked out of the Tardis. Of course, at £12 a photograph, we had already decided we were not parting with our hard-earned/limited cash for a photo you could quite easily create in Photoshop.

All in all, and I say this as someone who is fairly ignorant when it comes to Doctor Who, I was a little bit disappointed with the experience, especially considering the price of tickets. But then again, if my nieces and nephew were to visit, it’s probably the first attraction I’d take them to (but only because they’re serious Whovians).

Not sure what this is, but I want it! Suggestions from Doctor Who fans welcome.

If you’d like to enjoy the Doctor Who Experience not so vicariously, you may do so by purchasing tickets online or at the Olympia Two. Previews are from 17 – 20th February and the experience continues until November 30th 2011.

Akeela Bhattay is a Brummi born, London based freelance creative writer, storyteller and sometimes fashion stylist. Her work has been published on Huffington Post UK, ABTA Magazine, Welcome to London magazine, Haute Arabia, Amelia's Magazine and The Longest Stay. She can be found ferociously typing away at her laptop or sharing images of her travels on Instagram, whilst enjoying the perfect espresso. Lover of vintage, gadget geek and Xbox gamer and has a penchant for hurtling off into a daydream coma.

I could be mistaken, however I believe your last photo is of that console Kazran (sp?) used to control the weather (ice crystal fog in the atmosphere) from the 2010 11th Doctor Christmas Special, “Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol” which aired in December.

Dino.

http://www.akeela.co.uk akeela

I am glad to be informed! Thank you for reading :).

Akeela

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About the Author

Akeela Bhattay is a Brummi born, London based journalist, blogger, storyteller and sometimes fashion stylist. Her work has been published in Harper's Bazaar, Huffington Post UK, ABTA Magazine, Welcome to London magazine, Haute Arabia, Amelia's Magazine and The Longest Stay.

“Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come.“-Rumi

"When we contemplate the duration of the universe, we see it limited to the present moment, which is nothing more but the point which separates two infinities of time. The past and the future are as meaningless as if they did not exist. Is anyone more misguided than the man who barters an eternal future for a moment which passes quicker than the blink of an eye? - Ibn Hazm Al Andalousi (994-1064 A.D., Al Akhlaq wa’l Siyar